Connecticut DO CME requirements

At a glance: DO (osteopathic physician)

Hours

50 hours every 2 years

Renewal cycle

Every 2 years

Deadline

The last day of your birth month, every year (CME is counted over the 24 months before each renewal)

Required topics

6

Hours carry over

No

First renewal

C.G.S. 20-10b(d): a licensee applying for license renewal for the first time is exempt from the CME requirement. The six mandatory topics are then due in the first renewal period in which CME is required (your second renewal) and at least once every six years after that.

Reporting

You sign a statement on the renewal form attesting that you met the CME requirement (C.G.S. 20-10b(c)). Keep attendance records or certificates for at least six years after the year in which you completed the activity, and send them to the Department within 45 days of a request. Waivers or extensions are possible for medical disability or illness, and physicians not in active practice may apply (notarized form) for an exemption before the registration period ends (C.G.S. 20-10b(e)-(f)).

Board

Connecticut Department of Public Health (Connecticut Medical Examining Board)

C.G.S. 19a-88(b): physicians register (renew) every year during their birth month. DPH says most licenses first expire in the first birth month after issuance and the license expires on the last day of the birth month; licensees may practice and renew during a 90-day grace period, and on the 91st day the license becomes void. C.G.S. 20-10b(b): at each renewal you need at least 50 contact hours earned within the preceding 24 months (a contact hour is at least 50 minutes), so the window rolls forward every year.

Deadline

In Connecticut, the date depends on your license: the last day of your birth month, every year (CME is counted over the 24 months before each renewal).

Find your Connecticut DO deadline and add it to your calendar

Required topics

• Infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS1 hour · Once every 6 years · Every licensee
• Risk management (including prescribing controlled substances and pain management)1 hour · Once every 6 years · Every licensee
• Sexual assault1 hour · Once every 6 years · Every licensee
• Domestic violence1 hour · Once every 6 years · Every licensee
• Cultural competency (including implicit bias and systemic racism)1 hour · Once every 6 years · Every licensee
• Behavioral health Confirm with your Board1 hour · Once every 6 years · Every licensee
  Sec. 20-10b(b)(3): at least one contact hour during the first renewal period in which CME is required, and not less than once every six years after that. The statute (as amended by P.A. 22-58) says behavioral health CME 'may include' at least two contact hours on suicide prevention, or on diagnosing and treating cognitive conditions (Alzheimer's disease, dementia, delirium, geriatric depression) or mental health conditions common to veterans and their families. The Department's CME page still describes the veterans' mental health hours as required ('must include'), which is older wording. Confirm with the Department whether two hours are expected.

Credit that counts

• AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™C.G.S. 20-10b(b): qualifying activities include, but are not limited to, courses offered or approved by the AMA. The statute does not limit you to Category 1 credit; CME must be in an area of your practice and reflect your professional needs.
• AOA Category 1-AC.G.S. 20-10b(b) also names courses offered or approved by the American Osteopathic Association and the Connecticut Osteopathic Medical Society. The statute applies to every physician licensee, MD or DO.
• AOA Category 1-B Confirm with your BoardThe statute names AOA-approved courses without separating 1-A and 1-B. AOA Category 1-B is AOA credit, so it appears to count; confirm with the Department.
• AAFP Prescribed credit Confirm with your BoardNot named. The statute's list is open ('include, but are not limited to') and includes 'equivalent organizations'; the AAFP is ACCME-accredited and the AMA accepts AAFP Prescribed credit as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1, but the Department has not said so in writing.